The Chainsaw Maniac: Bringer of Love?
by Mimi Dear
Summary: A latenight showing of Death Unforgiven III can really change your life. Seven characters. Orihime x Ichigo and even... Tatsuki x Uryu? The madness.


I think the plot bunnies that attack me grew up in pits of radiactive slime.

'cos the stories I come up with are a sin against nature.

Enjoy:)

-

Tatsuki had never been one to worry.

But recently, things began bugging her; just picking and picking and eating at her and bothering and pestering and just not leaving her alone. Disappearing for awhile and then popping up into her mind at the most inconvenient time; in the middle of tests, while she was fighting with her mom, when she was reading her textbooks.

For the longest time, this happened. It was so annoying and bothersome and she hated it. Tatsuki really, really hated being pestered.

She was, for the most part, a pretty calm person; it was required of her in matches. You can't fight someone well if you aren't calm and focused. The lessons of martial arts came in handy in real life- they often came into play without her realizing it. It was instinct.

One night, Orihime called her on the phone. Asked her to come to a movie with Chad and Uryu and Ichigo and oh just everyone. Apparently, Isshin had even demanded that Ichigo bring along his two little sisters. No one else seemed to care (the two girls were in fact extremely adorable) and it's not like they weren't used to immaturity anyway, thanks to Keigo's apparent insistence at wildy exposing it to them, with he himself as a fine example.

As Orihime rambled on pleasantly over the phone, Tatsuki reminded herself to slap Keigo when she saw him again.

Arriving at the theatre, and immediately seeing a group of tall, lanky boys slouching over a small assortment of wire chairs outside of a empty cafe nearby, and clinging to soft drinks, and then a citrus-haired girl with two younger girls at her side, and all eating dribbling pieces of ice cream cones, Tatsuki grinned to herself. School had ups and downs, but the main loss of summer vacation was the loss of friends.

Orihime immediately yelled out to Tatsuki, heedlessly tossing aside her ice cream and dashing into the other girl's arms.

"Tatsuki Tatsuki Tatsuki Tatsukiiiiiiiiiii!" She cried happily, jumping and squealing and doing a little dance. Her brightly-colored hair wildly flew about her, but since this was Orihime, it regained perfection when she settled down to look into Tatsuki's eyes.

"Oi Tatsuki." greeted Ichigo, standing up and heading towards them. The other guys followed him, slowly but nonetheless moving. Uryu did his usual brisk, self-important waltz.

She nodded to Ichigo, her usual greeting for him, and a smile flickered easily over her slim lips. Karin and Yuzu waved to her cheerily.

"We got tickets for 'Death Unforgiven III'- I hope that's okay with you. It starts in five minutes." quipped Uryu, carefully pressing his glasses up his nose. The group headed for the movie theatre.

Tatsuki secretly wondered how Uryu had been convinced to mingle with other beings for enjoyment; but when she heard Orihime laugh and Ochigo grunt, it was clear he was being blackmailed- or something like that.

After giving Keigo five dollars to buy a soda, and borrowing ten from Ichigo, ruthless begging from Yuzu and Karin for Ichigo to buy them ropes of candy, and God knows what other lendings between the friends, each achieved some sort of popcorn or soda or icee or boxed candy, they slipped into the empty movie theatre, ten or fifteen or twenty minutes late.

With no one else in the theatre, Keigo let out a triumphant cheer that they should sit in the front row, a mere five feet from the screen and an excrucuiatingly painful place for their eyes. Mizuiro stared at him like he was an idiot. Orihime squealed happily at this; and convinced Tatsuki to stay with her, but Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu retreated to the back of the theatre. Karin and Yuzu choose the very very back row, pulling on their candy ropes, crunching the firm candy between their teeth, and chewing on the soft, sticky licorice rope beneath.

Orihime glanced back at Ichigo as he walked away, clearly distressed, but turned to Tatsuki with a renewed smile. She opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly the movie progressed to the main attraction of the plot: a mask-clad man in a black cape produced a chainsaw and promptly began chasing a woman across her front yard. Keigo yelped in surprise, and so did Yuzu and Karin.

Just as he reached to take a drink from his soda, Ichigo let out a surprised yell as Yuzu came roaring down the aisle, brushed hurriedly past Chad and Uryu, and squeezed onto the same seat as her brother, sitting to his left. Karin instead took the less scared-straight approach and took a seat beside Chad, who offered her popcorn without a word. She grinned uneasily but accepted the popcorn.

Orihime pulled her feet onto the theatre chair and hugged her knees to her chest.

"Orihime... are you alright?" questioned Tatsuki, hoping her friend wasn't scared; after all, this movie was successful only because it was easy to ridicule.

The orange-haired girl answered her question with a broad grin.

"Of course I am! I just wanted to be in a more comfortable postion to eat my teriyaki-covered popcorn!" She smiled happily.

Tatsuki made no reply and just nodded unsurely, her eyes returning to the movie.

However, Orihime soon finished off her teriyaki-covered popcorn, and the movie had reached a boring part; the mask-clad chainsaw killer was just chasing another girl. He actually hadn't managed to kill anyone yet- just chase them aimlessly across their front yards a few times.

She glanced behind her to Ichigo, who looked disinterested. In fact, wasn't he... falling asleep! Yuzu was slumped against his side, exhausted, since it was two in the morning, after all. Movie theatres are wondeful at two AM, except for twelve year olds. Uryu and Karin were also asleep, both snoring gently; and Chad was gone. Probably off for more popcorn or something.

An idea occured to Orihime.

Sneaking out of her seat (Tatsuki somehow didn't notice), she crawled along the fairly clean but mostly semi-sticky movie theatre floor, and crept her way up the stairs, being sure to restrain herself from humming "Mission Impossible", and finally made it to Ichigo's seat. Positioning herself so that their brows were level, and leaning on her knees, she stared at his face, so close that the spikes of their hair mingled intimately.

Ichigo stirred, and some of Orihime's long hair brushed his face, causing him to slit his eyes open softly.

He promptly yelled in surprise and freaked out when he found himself nose-to-nose with the beautiful girl.

"Orihime!" He yelled, "What the hell are you doing!" He demanded, not noticing that Karin, Uryu, Tatsuki, Mizuiro, Keigo, Karin, and even the newly-returned Chad (clutching a box of Sour Patch in his muscular fingers, and retrieved for the now-awake Karin), were all staring at him with the most confused looks they had ever managed to achieve without sarcasm.

Orihime gasped, smiling and sort of laughing and now grinning widely, her eyes pushed into slender squints and every one of her thick lashes visible to Ichigo's eyes.

"Silly! I know the movie might be a little boring but we still paid for it. I didn't want you to sleep through something you paid for! I figured I'd come up here and keep you company, Ichigo." She smiled.

He gazed blankly at her, one long eyebrow slowly raising itself over the other confusedly.

"So to wake me up, you had to stare at me until I realized you were there and woke up?" He asked slowly.

Her index finger poised itself over her lips.

"Well... not the most poetic, but it's truthful." She chirped.

Ichigo made no reply as Orihime took a seat to his right, and he in return slumped in his chair. Yuzu leaned over Ichigo to greet Orihime, but then realizing that Orihime had come up here to - could it be! seduce Ichigo - promptly stiffened her lips and frowned at her.

The teen girl blinked at her a couple of times in confusion.

"What's wrong, Yuzu?" she asked, concern evident in her eyes. She leaned leaned toward the girl. Ichigo got a sudden hit of claustrophobia, feeling a bit smothered between the two girls.

Maybe she was wrong. Was Orihime really capable of something like that?

"Aah, no, Orihime don't worry about it." Yuzu quickly retaliated, putting on a quick smile and settling back down next to Ichigo.

Tatsuki snuck a quick look up at her friend, wondering about what her next move would be. Well, not that Orihime had anything planned or something, but you don't just come and sit next to your crush during a bad movie for nothing. Slipping from her seat, Tatsuki snuck up to where Orihime was seated, mimicking her friend's floor crawling, though she didn't know Orihime had snuck away like that.

Tugging on her skirt, and immediately making the "shhh" symbol with her fingers and mouth (knowing that Orihime cry out a happy greeting otherwise), handed her friend her near-empty bowl of popcorn. With gestures, she motioned for her to offer some to Ichigo- with the hope that their fingers would touch and it would be an electrifying moment.

Orihime promptly turned solid red.

Accepting the popcorn bowl from Tatsuki, who then crept away in silence, secretly proud of herself for helping her clueless but absolutely adorable friend.

Tapping Ichigo's shoulder gently (she silently noted to herself what a fantastically firm arm he had), she thrust the large cardboard bowl at him shyly, unable to look at him confidently, and failed to notice as a wave of popcorn, crushed popcorn, popcorn kernels, and chunks of solidized butter pretty much attacked him.

"Oh Ichigo!" cried Orihime suddenly, horrified by her accident, began apologizing desperately and trying hopelessly to brush him clean.

"Ichigo, I- I'm so sorry, I just meant to offer you popcorn, not send you swimming in it! Aah, I'm so so so so sorry, Ichigo, I-" She cut herself off abruptly, brows clenched and slanted sadly.

He just kind of blinked at her. "Breathe, Orihime. It's only a flesh wound."

"Oh my God, you're hurt!" She cried.

Even Yuzu stifled a laugh at this.

"Look, Orihime, just help me get this stuff off my shirt, and I'll... forgive you or whatever. C'mon." Said Ichigo, standing up and stepping past her, and heading out of the theatre, hands stuffed in his pockets. Orihime, dazed, ran after her, trying to keep up with the tall boy's brisk walk. He quietly slowed down a bit for her.

Brushing into the unisex bathroom, which Orihime suppressed a gulp at seeing, she followed him. Ichigo had a handful of paper towels and was currently wetting a couple of them. He handed a folded wet paper towel and a dry one to her.

"Here."

She accepted them without a word and gave him a blank stare, but realized what she was supposed to do when Ichigo began brushing his shirt off and wetting spots that were infected with butter.

Being Orihime, she blushed severely, but knew that it was her fault that he was covered in sugar, and gently stepped forward, helping to clean his shirt.

This continued for a few minutes. Orihime caught herself cleaning the curve of his shoulder for at least two minutes straight, coughed abruptly, and laughed nervously.

"Aah, weeell Ichigo I think you're clean. Again, I'm really sorry about that." She said, the shrugging shape of her lips proving sincerity. Ichigo tossed his shoulders casually.

"Relax, Orihime." He told her, voice deep and calm and soothing. He laced his fingers and held the back of his neck, elbows jutting out from his head.

She looked to him discontentedly.

If it were physically possible, a lightbulb would have popped up over her head. She slowed to a stop and so did Ichigo.

"Ichigo, I feel really bad a-about spilling Tatsu- I mean, my popcorn, all over you. Maybe... Maybe I can make it up. By taking you to see another movie? A different one? During the daytime. On a weekend or something." She gave him a hopeful look, although wincing slightly, knowing there could be an unfortunate ending to this.

She couldn't even bear to watch his face for expressions, and instead looked hopelessly at the carpet.

Which is why she was so surprised when Ichigo gently reached forward, tilted her chin with his two fingers, long and slender and strong and calloused, and made her look into his eyes. It was a terrifying, thrilling, beautiful moment for Orihime.

"I'd really like that." He said, the smallest wrinkle of a smile upon his face. This close, Orihime could smell a faint scent on him; a calm, soap-cologne scent.

Releasing her chin, he turned, and began heading for the theatre again.

"Are you coming, Orihime?" He called.

She only smiled off dazedly after him, before rushing forward to catch up. As they entered the dark theatre, Orihime decided to herself, amidst the screaming of people being chased after with a chainsaw, she was going to get a very, very large popcorn next time.

As Tatsuki carefully watched the two come in, from the corner of her eye, Uryu suddenly came up beside her, taking a seat.

"Popcorn?" He offered, thrusting the remainder of his bowl at her.

With a grin, Tatsuki was pleased to discover that things weren't bothering her anymore.

-

Reviews greatly appreciated.


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